Only A Guard
by TheCurtisclan
Summary: As he is chasing the Queen up the icy tower, the younger of the two Duke of Weselton guards has a change of heart, and decides he must do the right thing and save the Queen instead of eliminating her as his orders go. This is a story describing what would happen if one of the guards had a change of heart and saved the Queen instead of killing her.
1. Savior

"Come on!" The mustached guard ordered, waving his crossbow in the direction that Queen Elsa, The Snow Queen, had run to. The younger guard of the two looked briefly at where his friend had gestured, and ran after him up the cold and icy stairs. Keeping wary that he could slip and fall down at any time, he made sure to watch his step as he ascended the first flight of stairs. _Be prepared for anything, and should you encounter the queen, you are to put an end to this Winter_. Those were the orders. He had come to accept that the Duke was not a good man, but maybe, just maybe, this was a little over the top. Then again, what was he to do?

The guards took another set of stairs. How tall was this ice castle? It sure made the younger guard feel the weight of his crossbow that rested in his hands. _Put an end to this Winter._ Those were the words that plagued his mind as he ran up the seemingly endless stairs. He was no assassin, so why was he doing this? More importantly, why was the other guard doing this? He was definitely the smarter of the two, so shouldn't he at least say that this might be the wrong thing to do? The younger guard knew that he had to do something, but what?

The guards finally reached the very top of the staircase, into a large room that was made completely out of ice, just like the rest of the castle. The only difference being that this room had a bright, yellow tinge that covered the ice. It was strangely… beautiful in a way. And in the middle of this room stood her, Queen Elsa, looking frightened at the appearance of the two guards. Not deadly, just scared. The younger guard pointed his crossbow at the Queen, ready to fire. But he couldn't. This wasn't right. Instead he just stood there, keeping his crossbow steadily aimed at the Queen, as he saw his friend in his peripheral vision take aim at the woman.

"No," He whispered quietly, lowering his crossbow. He couldn't do it; he was not a killer without reason. He looked back towards his friend, who had adjusted his shot, then towards the queen, who's deep, blue eyes were filled with fear as she braced for the impact of the crossbow bolt. There was only one thing to do. He was always one to follow orders, but there was no way he would do this. The other guard was a different story though.

The young guard made a one-eighty degree turn on his heels, and ran towards his friend. Just as his friend pulled the trigger to fire the bolt, the younger guard pushed the crossbow up, sending the bolt flying up into the roof of the room.

"What are you doing?" The other guard demanded angrily.

The young guard wrestled the crossbow from his friend's hands, and threw it to the ground. "The right thing. I can't kill an innocent, nor can I let you kill one neither." The young guard grabbed his friend by the collar with one hand, and then used his other to perform a punch that knocked his friend to the ground. The guard fell to the ground with a thump as he connected with the solid ice. The younger guard towered over his friend, and for once, he was the one pulling the punches. But at a price. With that punch went away his normal life, any chance at going back home to Weselton, with his friends and family. As he looked down on his friend, he slid his hand through his brown hair in disbelief at his actions. He had almost forgotten about the Queen until he heard her panting breaths. He turned around, and attempted to take a step towards the Queen, but she swiftly raised her hands, conjuring a small ice barrier between them.

"Whoa there," he said calmly, taking a step around the ice barrier. "I'm not here to hurt you. Anymore, at least." He took a few steps further.

"Why should I trust you?" She questioned intently, ready for anything.

The young guard pulled out a knife from his small red coat, and threw it to the ground. "You shouldn't trust me. Just, don't try to kill me." He heard the footsteps of Prince Hans and his guards come up behind him on the stairs, but when he turned around, it wasn't Hans he focused on. Instead, he saw his friend sitting up on the ground, taking aim with his crossbow at the Queen.

Everything suddenly seemed to move in slow motion, as he tried to figure what to do. But he almost didn't need to think of what he was going to do. His friend fired a bolt at the Queen, but it never hit it's mark, and instead made its way deep into the young guard's shoulder as he made a shield of himself between the Queen and his friend, causing him to black out.

The young guard awoke a few hours later from unconsciousness to find himself laid on the floor of small room. The room was lined with shelves with what went around for 'medicine' these days, as loosely as that word was used, so the guard assumed he was with a doctor of some kind. His suspicions were quelled when he saw a rather large man enter the room, whom he assumed to be the doctor.

"Oh!" The man exclaimed, surprised. "You're awake. Well that's good, means the crossbow didn't kill you!"

The young guard showed no appreciation to his dark humor. "How long have I been out?" He asked, sitting up. The doctor walked over to a shelf and looked at the clock that sat on it.

"About six hours now, if what I've been told is correct. A couple of guards brought you in here an hour ago for treatment; said it was specifically ordered by the Queen."

"The Queen? Why would she do that? It doesn't matter, where is she now?" The doctor looked back towards him.

"She's in prison, I'm afraid. As a precaution until Princess Anna is found safe and sound."

"Can I see her?"

"Well, I wouldn't know. I guess I could show you there, but I don't know if they'd let you in."

The young guard slowly rose up off the ground and onto his feet, clutching his shoulder in pain as he did, but letting go when he was up. "Then take me to her." He demanded.

The doctor took his eyes off of him. "There might be one problem though. Not many people exactly… like you here. You know, since you tried to assassinate the Queen and all."

"Well I don't care. Just take me to her." The man nodded in defeat, and trudged out of the room with the young guard following him. They exited the room into a large hallway, which the guard could only guess belonged to the royal family.

"Where are we?" The young guard asked, as he admired the many paintings that sat upon the walls.

"You're in the castle of Queen Elsa and Princess Anna. So please don't touch any of the priceless artifacts." They made their way out of the hallway, and down a flight of stairs. The doctor continued to lead the guard down to the dungeon, opening a door that led to one of the dreariest places the young guard had ever seen. It was barely lit, even with the dim light coming through the doorway. The doctor led the way still, taking cautionary steps into the dungeon, and eventually made it down to the bottom in great relief. He walked up to a guard that sat in a chair, and whispered a few words only inaudible to the young guard's ears. When he was finished talking, he walked back to the young guard.

"Alright, you're allowed in. Just make it quick, okay?" The young guard made no promises, and walked down the cellblock until he found the only occupied cell, which had a single guard protecting it. He attempted to walk in, but the guard out his hand out to stop him in his tracks.

"Where do you think _you're_ going?" He growled.

"To see the Queen," He snapped. "What do you think?"

"You're not going to try and kill her again, are you?" The guard chuckled.

The young guard gave a fake chuckle, "Yeah. Th-that's really freaking funny," He clenched a fist and sucker-punched the guard, causing him to lean against the wall holding his throbbing cheek. "So, I'll just let myself in?" He pushed past the guard, opened the door, and entered the cell. Elsa was sat down on a bed in the corner of the room, shackles trapping her hands and preventing her from using her ice powers. After a few steps into the room, she finally noticed the young guard, and stood up to greet him.

"Glad to see that you're alive, at least," She said with a solemn look on her face.

The young guard stood a few feet from Elsa now. "I'm more worried about you. The doctor told me you're in here as a precaution?"

"It's not like I volunteered. I just need to get out of here." She gave a sigh. "Why did you save me?"

"Because it wasn't right to just kill you like that."

"You should've just killed me. I'm a danger to these people."

"That's what you tell yourself. But I don't think you're a threat to anyone; that's the reason I saved you."

"Do you really think that?" The young guard nodded in reply. "I never got your name, you know."

"How rude of me. My name's Vernon. It's a pleasure to meet you, my Queen."

"If it were under better circumstances, it'd be my pleasure too."

Vernon went up and sat on the bed, and patted a spot next to him for the Queen to sit. She accepted the offer, and sat next to him.

"Have they really not found Anna yet?" Elsa asked, looking down at the ground.

"That's what I've been told."

"I told her to go away, that she would've been safe away from me-"

"Why would you tell her that? You shouldn't avoid your sister!"

"How would you know? I had to."

"Because I had a sister. We were practically best friends for twelve years; but one day I decided to be a guard when I grew up, which she objected, saying that the Duke of Weselton was an evil man. Who knew she was correct? So we just kind of… stopped talking."

The Queen looked up at him. "You had a sister? Why had?"

"Well, I finally went to a military academy when I turned eighteen," Vernon continued. "While I was there, I got word that… that my sister was very sick. The problem was, I couldn't just leave the academy, otherwise they would never let me back in. That was my biggest mistake. By the time I had finished my training a few months later, she had already passed." He choked out the last word and took a pause. "Every day I regret not talking to her. Every day I die a little inside, knowing that I never got to tell my sister that I really cared for her. Elsa, please, if you get out of this, don't ignore your sister. Don't make the same mistakes I did. You will regret it."

Vernon pushed back his hair before slowly getting up from the bed. He bowed down politely and began to leave the cell before Elsa called out to him.

"Why aren't you afraid of what I've done, like most of the others?" She asked.

Vernon turned back to face her, and gave a sigh. "Elsa, remember a couple of days ago when you were scared and running, and you accidently blasted the Duke, my friend and I? It certainly shocked me, but it didn't hurt me. You couldn't hurt anyone with your current powers." He opened the cell door but stopped before he exited the cell.

"I'm more scared of what you're capable of." He said, finally closing the cell door and leaving Elsa to her thoughts.

Vernon set off down the cell block, to find his way back to the doctor to find some way to help the Queen out of the dungeon. He ran his hand on the cold stone that made up the wall, trying to take his mind off of the Queen. He hated to admit it, but he didn't save the Queen just because he thought it to be right. It was like some instinct had set him off back at the ice castle; something deep down inside of him found her to be important to him. Just from a single look.

He was interrupted from his train of thought when he sighted a group of guards storming down the hallway, obvious determined looks on their faces. He let three of them pass, but stopped the fourth one in his tracks so he could speak to him.

"What's the hurry?" He questioned the guard.

"The princess has been found," He explained. "She died a few minutes ago, and the Queen is being held responsible. She's charged with treason, and sentenced to death."

Vernon let the guard go, allowing the guard to make his way to Elsa's cell again. Vernon felt ringing in his ears. Elsa, charged with treason? There was no way someone like her would kill her sister! There was something wrong here. He turned and jogged back down to Elsa's cell. When he arrived and entered the already opened cell, he was greeted by an ice cold breeze coming from a gaping hole that Elsa had blasted in the wall. He a figure running off into the blizzard that seemed to have just popped out of nowhere, but the figure was much too masculine to be the Queen.

"What happened?" He hurriedly asked.

"The Queen escaped from her cell!" One of the guards replied. "Prince Hans has gone after her!"

"Why would Prince Hans go after her? She's just gone off to be alone, where she can harm no-one-" He had a sudden realization. Unless… Unless… He needed her dead. Wanted her dead. Vernon took off through the hole and into the blizzard, putting his right arm up to protect him from the ravaging snow that swirled around him. His red coat gave him barely any resistance to the cold, but there was no way that would stop him now. He had to find the Queen, and stop whatever was going on.

He stopped for a moment to gain his bearings, but he could barely see two feet in front of him. He started to hear many voices swell around his head.

_You are to put an end to this winter._

_What are you doing?_

_Not many people exactly… like you here, you know._

_Glad to see that you're alive, at least._

_Why aren't you afraid of what I've done, like most of the others?_

His thoughts went back to a few years ago, when he had finally found his way to his sister's grave, and his final words to her.

"_I'm so sorry, Helda. I am so sorry for not being there for you in your time of need. I…" He sighed. "Finnick sends his regards. Oh… right. I forgot; you never got to meet him, did you?" He looked back off into the city and pointed a thumb towards it, as if his sister were still here. "Finnick's my official partner in protecting the Duke of Weselton. He's a good guy; I bet you would've liked him." He tried to keep himself from sobbing, but failed miserably and began to sob quietly. "I wish I were there for you. Dad says that you asked where I was. But I couldn't abandon my training; this is a once in a lifetime chance! Can you please understand that?" He fell to his knees over his sister's grave. "Could you please forgive me?"_

When he brought himself back in reality, he found that the blizzard had just magically… stopped. He scanned the area around him for any signs of Elsa, and finally spotted her almost a hundred meters away. But she wasn't alone. He noticed another figure, a man, towering over her, pulling his sword out of it's' holster.

"Oh no," He whispered to himself. Vernon sprinted towards Elsa, covering half a meter with each step. As he neared the Queen, he recognized the figure over her: Prince Hans. He knew it. He made it halfway towards the two when Prince Hans raised his sword. By then, he already knew he was too late. There was no way he could make it. But he didn't need to. Princess Anna made it there before anyone else, and put her hand out to stop the blade, and before Vernon's eyes, she suddenly turned to solid ice. Vernon couldn't believe his eyes. He came to a quick stop, and stood there in disbelief at what he just witnessed. He saw Elsa cry out, and scramble to her feet, looking into her sister's frozen eyes as she began to sob. Vernon took a couple of steps forward, but didn't dare go any further than that. He looked across from him and saw a strange blonde man across from him standing next to a large reindeer, and then looked to the right to see a… snowman? He couldn't worry about that now.

After a few seconds of utter silence, except for Elsa's crying, he seemed to notice something happening to Anna. From her chest outwards, she began to unfreeze, eventually attracting the attention of Elsa, who jumped up out of joy as her sister finally unfroze and fell into her arms for a warm hug.

"You sacrificed yourself for me?" She asked happily.

"I love you," Anna replied.

The snowman to Vernon's right gasped, "An act of true love will thaw a frozen heart!"

"Love will thaw," Elsa exclaimed. "Love! Of course!"

"Elsa?" Anna asked.

"Love!" Elsa repeated excitedly. Anna looked around her, ignoring Vernon for now, and gasped. Snowflakes began to rise up from the ground around the pair, and the icy ground began to disappear along with them. Vernon took a few more steps forward, so he was positioned on a boat that started to rise out of dormancy of the winter and float on the crystal clear water. Soon the entire body of water was clear of any ice, and then the city. Elsa compiled all the ice into the sky, creating a gigantic snowflake, and burst it apart in a beautiful display that the whole kingdom could see.

Elsa looked back towards her sister. "I knew you could do it," Anna said.

Hands down," The snowman explained as he began to melt. "This is the best day of my life. And, quite possibly, the last."

"Oh, Olaf!" Elsa exclaimed. "Hang on little buddy!" She made a motion with her hand, allowing the snowman to freeze again, but now with a small cloud above him with snow falling from it.

The snowman gasped at this surprise, "My own personal flurry!"

They were interrupted from the joyous occasion by a grunt from the side of the boat that came from Prince Hans. The blonde man attempted to go after him, but Princess Anna stopped him and went after Hans herself.

"Anna," Hans said, standing up. "But… she froze your heart!"

"The only frozen heart around here is yours," She replied, turning around. Before she left though, she quickly turned again and punched Hans so hard he fell off the boat. Then she went back to her sister for another hug.

Only then did she finally take notice of Vernon standing towards the side of the boat, leaning against the wood. "Who's that?" She asked, stepping away from her sister.

"Oh, Anna, this is Vernon. One of the Duke of Weselton's guards." Elsa replied.

Vernon waved and added, "Former Duke of Weselton guard. Since I basically betrayed the Duke, I can't really go back to Weselton."

Elsa noticed the slight sadness in his voice. "You know what Vernon? You're a good guard, I'll give you that. So how about we see about you becoming my personal bodyguard?"

Vernon was delighted with the news. "It'd be an honor, my Queen."

Vernon sat in the large bedroom; _his_ bedroom. It had been three days since the great thaw, and in that time, Elsa had officially made Vernon her bodyguard. But he didn't start until next week, so he had about two days to kill, which meant just sitting around his new room in the castle reading. He had focused on more scientific books, as few there were, rather than reading any other religiously aimed books.

Vernon heard the telltale creek of his door opening, and looked up from his book to see Elsa entering his room. Smiling warmly, he placed down the book and listened to what Elsa had to say.

"How're you doing, Vernon?" She asked. "With the crossbow bolt wound, I mean?"

"All in all," He replied. "Can't really complain. I'd say I've had worse, but I really haven't. And I was unconscious for most of the pain, so that really helped."

Elsa furthered into the room. "You know, I never really properly thanked you for saving my life."

"There's no thanks necessary, ma'am. I was just doing the right thing in that castle."

"Vernon, could you just tell me, was that the only reason you wanted to save me?"

Vernon's expression changed, but quickly went back to happy. "I have my reasons; but I must insist that you don't concern yourself with them."

Elsa now stood directly in front of him. "You're a very strange man, Vernon." She gave him a small kiss on his cheek. "I like that." She stood up, and went to leave the room. "Vernon, you really should forget about your past. It's called the past for a reason." She then left the room, leaving Vernon to his own thoughts. He lay back on the bed, letting his feet hang over the edge. He had to tell her one day. About the real reason he saved her. But he knew it wasn't the right thing to do. It was crazy to even think about being with her. He was a guard, and she was a Queen.

He let out a sigh, "I'm only a guard, and she's a Queen…" He then drifted off to sleep.


	2. Sending a message

About a month had already passed since what the locals had taken up to calling 'The Great Thaw' had happened, otherwise known as when Elsa used her love for her sister to rid Arendelle of the un-melting snow that she had cursed the country with in the first place. Not that Vernon would say that; if none of that happened he never would've became the official bodyguard of Queen Elsa, a job he loves, not only because he got spend twelve hours a day protecting the Queen, but because it gained him respect from the citizens of Arendelle. Well, most of them anyway. Some of them still hated him for the whole 'attempted murder' business. But as long as they didn't get in the way of his duties, he didn't care.

Presently, he stood in one of the many gardens spotted around the city with the Queen, as she made her weekly rounds through the city. He now wore the uniform that all the guards had to wear, but personally he didn't really like the color of it.

He stood a few feet away from Elsa, always within eyesight, and just in front of a rose bush. He took a deep sniff of the wondrous scent that emanated from the roses, and sighed.

"Man, does this bring me back," He told the Queen.

"Really? How so?" She asked. Vernon turned away from the roses to look at the Queen. Elsa had begun wearing more sensible dresses again rather than the bright blue dresses she had worn back when Vernon first met her, and today she had worn a dark green dress and had her hair in a bun.

"Back to Weselton," He explained. "Back when I was younger, every spring we'd have a whole garden of flowers sprout up in the town center, so my sister would convince me to take her down there so she could pick some of those flowers." He let out a sigh. "She just always had to have those damn flowers."

"It seems like you really miss your home," Elsa concluded.

"Does it show that much? I guess I do kind of miss home. My friends. My family… Well, even if I could go home, which I can't because I'd be executed for treason, I really don't want to anyway. I love it here in Arendelle: the weather, the people…" He paused for a second before saying the final word. "You." He smiled as he said this, making Elsa's heart literally skip a beat. "I enjoy it here."

"I would hope so. So, uh, Vernon, as you know, in a couple of months Anna and Kristoff are getting, uh, married, and I was just wondering if you, I don't know, wanted to come?" She chuckled nervously. "As more than a guard."

"You mean, like a date?"

Elsa realized that it did sound like a date. "Oh, uh, well, what I mean is, uh…"

Vernon placed his hands on her shoulders to calm her down. "It's okay. I'd be honored to go with you."

"Cool. So awesome. Anyway Vernon, I'm going to head back to the castle. I'd like for you to take the afternoon off, come back at six." Vernon opened his mouth to object, but Elsa was quick to cut him off. "No objections Vernon. I am ordering you to take the afternoon off. And you do have to day what I say."

"I guess you got me there," Vernon said. "Alright then. If there's anything you need, anything at all ma'am, I'll be down at the tavern." He gave her a bow, turned away and walked out of the garden.

Vernon began to make his way through the city streets to the local tavern. The streets were scarce with people today, considering it was a Sunday though, it wasn't that unusual. He passed a few people though, and soon came across a couple of men who seemed to be arguing, along with a few other people who were watching the argument play out. Vernon became curious, and walked up to the group.

"Is everything all right here?" He asked, looking between the two men.

"Of course!" The man on the left said. "Of course _you're _here!"

"Hey, shut up," The man on the right demanded. "He's only trying to help." The man turned to Vernon. "This problem is this thief just came up to me and tried to pickpocket my money!"

The man on the left got extremely angry. "You son of a bitch!" He reached into his coat pocket and, in one swift movement, pulled out a small knife and plunged it into the other man's stomach. Vernon froze out of shock, as the man with a knife turned and ran off, while the other man fell to the ground, clutching his stomach. One of the women from the watching group ran to the man's side to aid him.

"Vernon," One of the bystanders said. "You have to go after him!"

The woman looked up from the wounded man with teary eyes and told him, "No! You have to stay here! You have medical experience!" Vernon looked off towards the running man, who was a hundred meters away by now.

He looked back to the woman. "I'm sorry. I have to get this guy." He left the woman and the other bystanders to the wounded man and sprinted through the wide street after the man. There was no way Vernon could catch up to the stabber, without a few shortcuts at least. Vernon took a sharp left into a small alleyway; one that he hoped would lead him to the stabber. He managed to knock into a walking couple and nearly tripped over, but kept his balance and made his way to the end of the alley. He peaked around the corner to see if the man was running this way, which he was. Vernon waited a few seconds until he heard the man's footsteps get close, and sprung out of hiding. He grabbed the man by his collar and pushed him back until he smashed him against the brick wall opposite the alley. The man hit it hard, and let out a grunt as he made contact.

"You think you could just get away with something like that?" Vernon questioned. The man attempted to avoid eye contact and refused to speak a word. "Look at me. Look at me, motherfucker!" He smashed the man against the wall again. "I said to look at me!"

The man gave a small chuckle, and looked towards Vernon. "I knew you'd come to save that man, Vernon. Like the good little hero you are. I just have one thing to say; the Duke says hello."

Vernon felt a force hit him in the back of the head, causing him to let go of the man, which allowed him to make a run for it. Vernon looked back at his surprise attacker, and took no chances in letting the man get another hit on him. He threw the next punch, hitting the man directly in the cheek, then another to his gut. The man keeled over, allowing Vernon to knee his chin and send him stumbling backwards. This time the man threw a punch in Vernon's direction, but Vernon blocked it with his forearm and countered it with another punch. Vernon had had enough of this, and grabbed the man's head and, in one swift movement, twisted his neck so a loud snap sounded. He let the lifeless body fall to the ground, and looked around for the other man. Vernon heard a noise from above him, and saw the man climbing up to the roof of a building. Vernon had to catch him.

Vernon made a move for a windowsill above him, and took a few steps up the wall so he managed to grab it. He hauled himself up and grabbed onto the ledge of the roof, allowing him to climb up onto it. When he steadied himself on his feet, he looked around the small rooftop area for the man. But it was the man who found him. He was quickly swept off his feet by the man, falling to the hard wooden ground, and he opened his eyes just fast enough to avoid the man's foot stomping his head in. Jumping up, he stood poised for action as the man circled him.

"You're a persistent one, ain't ya Vernon?" The man mocked, a large grin on his face.

"Why did the Duke send you?" Vernon shouted.

"You are sentenced to death by the Duke, and if we cannot kill you there," The man pulled out his knife. "I'll kill you here!"

The man ran at Vernon, his knife tightly gripped in his hand, and lunged his arm at Vernon. Vernon threw his arm up, and blocked the incoming attack, allowing him to kick back the man. He then threw himself at the man, placing a kick on his thigh, sending him to his knees. The man attempted a wild slash, but his efforts were wasted on the air beside his target, and this allowed Vernon to wrestle the knife from the man's hand. He threw the knife to one side, and punched the man onto the ground. He took a few steps back to look for something, as the man got up on his hands and knees and wiped a streak of blood from the corner of his mouth.

"Jesus, you definitely hit hard," The man said. "They certainly left that out of the contract."

Vernon turned to face the man, a length of rope held in his hands, and one end tied to the chimney that was centered on the roof. "So, what exactly are you?" Vernon asked casually, as if almost nothing happened.

"Assassin," The man replied. "This was to be my second contract."

"And your last one," Vernon told him, hauling the assassin to his feet and wrapping the length of rope around his neck and tying a knot.

"What?" The man asked nervously, as Vernon pushed him to the edge of the roof. "You can't kill me! I'm surrendering! And the Queens guard has to take me into captivity for a fair trial!"

Presently, Vernon's face was only a few inches from the assassin's. "Well that's the thing. I'm her bodyguard. So I'm not held by the restrictions they are. And scum like you don't deserve mercy."

The assassin gave a whimper. "Don't you understand? This is something much bigger than me. The Duke is mounting something, and he's going to keep sending assassins until you are dead!"

"Why does he want me dead so badly?"

"Because you're the only one standing between him and the throne of Arendelle. If you're dead, the Queen's an easy target."

"Then consider your body a message to the Duke. Don't. Fuck. With. Me." Vernon powerfully kicked the man off the roof, allowing the rope to do its work. The man swung for a few seconds, before finally going limp. Vernon looked over the ledge, and saw the small crowd that had gathered beneath the body. Some were shocked, some were angry at Vernon for his actions, but all were dead silent, as they stared at the lifeless man that hung from the rope.

By about eleven o'clock later that night, Vernon had fallen asleep on his late-night shift he had taken when he came back from break. He wasn't used to night shifts yet, and he was worn out from his battle earlier that day. He was sat in a small wooden chair just outside the Queen's bedroom, which he originally intended to use to rest his sore legs.

But suddenly, he was awoken from a loud noise that came from beside him. He fell back off the chair and landed on the floor.

"Oh, God!" A worried voice exclaimed quietly. Vernon looked up at the owner of the voice, who turned out to be Anna. "I'm so sorry! I didn't know that would happen!"

"It's all right," Vernon said, standing up. "I'm good. What are you doing here anyway?"

"I did come up here to get some sleep, but when I passed you, I heard you muttering some interesting things."

"Like what?"

"You know, just stuff about Elsa."

Vernon froze. "Really? Like what?"

"Like how 'You want to run your hands through her luscious blonde hair,' that 'It kills you whenever you leave her alone,' and a few things that are a little too… inappropriate to say out loud."

Vernon rubbed the back nervously. "Oh, uh, you aren't going to tell Elsa about that, are you?"

"Why not? It's quite obvious that you've fallen for her. And I don't know if you know, but she has fallen for you as well."

"No, she hasn't. At least not properly. It's only because I saved her life that she thinks that." Vernon reached down and pulled the chair back up onto its wooden legs. "Do you have the time?"

"Eleven." Anna told him.

"I'd better be going then." Vernon turned away from Anna and began strolling away towards the stairs.

"Vernon!" He heard Anna call out. He peered back over his shoulder at her. "Just for the record, you're much more of a gentleman than most other men. You'd be great for Elsa."

Vernon gave her a smile and nodded, before going down the stairs and out the main doors, into the bright and starry night.


End file.
